What is the designated survivor? What to know about government's contingency plan during State of the Union

Many well-known names in the political world have served as "designated survivors," skipping major events including the State of the Union and ready to assume power in the event of a disaster. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

All have served as "designated survivors," skipping major events including the State of the Union and preparing to assume power in the event of a disaster.

The Kiefer Sutherland-led ABC drama "Designated Survivor" may have brought the practice of a designated survivor into the mainstream, but it has been going on for decades. The designated survivor is typically a cabinet-level official who is over the age of 35 and a U.S.-born citizen.

"You have the Secret Service with you, you have what they call the football with you-the communications devices-because if it happened, you would immediately be at war," Cuomo told Eyewitness News. "You're accompanied by numerous secret service members and Army officials, vehicles. It really makes you think how quickly the situation could get so bad, how fragile this whole system is and how fragile the world is."

For President's Trump's 2019 State of the Union address, Energy secretary Rick Perry was appointed as designated survivor.